Mayor Bates said he was sorry to see Iglehart go as she had done good work in helping the office analyze opportunities for economic development in the city, in particular for new-business startups.

“She leaves as a friend,” he said, citing the former staffer’s valuable work on the “nitty gritty” of how to get businesses started. “I am really pleased to have been offered an understanding of what we can do in that area,” he said on Monday Jan. 7.

Iglehart, who had not returned calls at press time, is believed to be starting a new company with a friend.

What makes a city a magnet for startups? Why do entrepreneurs and financiers flock to the South Bay even though there are so few good places to eat there? Does Berkeley want to be Silicon Valley anyway? (You can guess the answer to that one.) Maybe Berkeley is just not hip enough to attract young talent? Does the city’s red tape makes it too cumbersome to be innovative? And, perhaps most significantly, is there just too much distrust of businesses as they thrive and grow? Perhaps Berkeley should focus on what it already does well: incubating startups then allowing them to fly to pastures new, be that San Francisco or Palo Alto.

All these questions were raised and debated at Berkeleyside’s Startup Berkeley Local Business Forum, last night in downtown Berkeley. An estimated 220 people gathered at the Freight & Salvage to listen and engage directly with two sets of panelists, and to discuss the issues among themselves both before and after the program.